IRL: Open-wheel veterans gunning for Petit glory

Andretti Green Racing started its American Le Mans Series program on top
with a win in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The driving trio of Bryan Herta,
Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan outlasted the Penske Racing Porsche RS
Spyders to give Acura...

Andretti Green Racing started its American Le Mans Series program on top
with a win in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The driving trio of Bryan Herta,
Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan outlasted the Penske Racing Porsche RS
Spyders to give Acura their debut win in the ultra-competitive LMP2
category.

Fast-forward seven months and the veteran IndyCar Series team has yet
to visit victory lane since that memorable March day. This weekend's 10th
running of the Petit Le Mans could change that.

Herta, who has been in the cockpit of the No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura
all-season long, teams with two veteran open-wheel Brazilians for the
1000-mile/10-hour endurance race. The 2004 IndyCar champion Tony
Kanaan and 2004 "IRL Rising Star" Vitor Meira are eager to end their 2007
seasons with a win.

Meira received a late call from Andretti Green to fill the seat of Dario
Franchitti, who had been released from his contract to go racing in NASCAR
with Chip Gansssi. Meira is no stranger to the Road Atlanta circuit, having
competed with Highcroft Racing in the 2006 edition, finishing third in
class in his ALMS debut.

After getting seat time in the Acura on Wednesday and Thursday, Meira
instantly found differences between the IndyCar and the LMP2 prototype.

"One thing that stands out is the braking in high speed corners," he
explained. "Compared to last year, [the track is] a lot smoother and
faster. Comparing the times from last year to this year, you can
definitely see the improvement on the track. That translates to the driver
a lot."

Kanaan agrees saying that you have to drive the Acura in a different way
compared to the open-wheeled cars.

"It's a bigger car," he said. "You have to watch out to not hit the curbs
and [damage] the bodywork because [of the size of the car]. The downforce
levels are higher in the corners. When we tested here two weeks ago, we had
a lot of grip on the racetrack. I was worried about doing a double stint
[because] I was getting tired. It's defiantly more physical than an
IndyCar."

Meira noted that traffic is also a major difference between the two types
of racing. With four different classes of cars racing on the track at the
same time, navigating around slower cars is crucial for success.

"The first thing you learn is how to deal with traffic," Meira said. "You
may drive the car a tenth faster every lap but if you can't deal with
traffic correctly, you lose [a lot] in a hurry."

Kanaan is fresh off a two-day IndyCar test at Iowa Speedway and found it a
challenge adjusting to the Acura. However, after a few laps, he was
quickly able to get up to speed.

"I jumped out of an IndyCar yesterday so its even more of a reality check
for me," said Kanaan. "My first few laps were like 'whoa, I better not
crash the car otherwise Bryan will kill me.'. With this track, you get a
wake-up call. It's fast, very fast."

Since debuting in the IndyCar Series in 2002, Meira has been close to
scoring his first series victory on a number of occasions. Finishing
second seven times, he hopes that getting more seat time will help him land
that elusive first win.

"We constantly learn everywhere if you're racing ALMS, IndyCar or a go-kart
race," Meira explained. "That's why we want to stay in a car as much as
possible and do as many laps. I'm definitely going to learn something here
and I hope it's enough not only to make the car better there but also start
winning races [in IndyCar]."

Bryan Herta, a veteran of IndyCar, shifted his focus
this year to the ALMS as the team's lead driver. He hopes this up-and-down
season will end on a high note.

"I think its been from the highest high with winning our first race at
Sebring, which was unexpected, to going through a tough period through the
summer that I think we fell a little bit behind," Herta explained. "We're
finishing stronger now and are getting more out of the package. I think
Acura has done an amazing job with giving us a really good car in their
first season of sports car racing. I think we've had strong driving lineups
and have that again here with Vitor coming in. We don't have any weak
links. The long race will probably give us a better chance of what it takes
to win."